Reputation, reputation, reputation, Oh! I have
lost my reputation. I have lost the immortal part of myself, and
what remains is bestial. My reputation lags, my reputation!
-- William Shakespeare in
Othello.
Like
Rome was not built in a day, so are corporate reputations not built
in a day. But they can be destroyed in one, as Union Carbide
discovered at Bhopal on 3rd December 1984. Also once it
is built it is even more difficult to maintain it – shinning and
untarnished.
Corporate image is a subject about which many people hold firm
views, but in truth know surprisingly little. Some see it as a
menace. As merely an expensive flag waving exercise. Others regard
it as a myth, arguing that publicity cannot hope to change perceived
impressions and attitudes in people’s minds. And at the other
extreme are those who believe it is a magic formula and an instant
panacea for every corporate situation.
You have
to work in building corporate reputation and image. Good corporate
image in my view can be built if you treat it like the 5th
“P” of marketing. “P” standing for “performance.” Corporate image is
built through more than one means – advertising, public relations
and today community relations, beside profit. You need to be at your
professional best. Corporate image must happen by design and not by
default. The key lies in engineering the change of image with these
professional activities..
Our
corporate success lies in our corporate genes. A corporate image
survey among twenty companies in the UK indicated that on the
favourability and familiarity factors of a company, if you cannot
distinguish your brands from your competition, you can use the
“halo” of the company image to strengthen your position. The overall
umbrella image makes it easier to establish them in the minds of the
consumers. Because they share a common inheritance, they reinforce
one another at the parent. The advantage of the parent company
branding is greatest of all in the services and durables industry.
Corporate images today are largely formed as a result of the CEO and
his leadership, the Vision of the company, and the formal company
policies and practices. All three are performance based. This then
results in the corporate culture, which when communicated externally
and internally leads to corporate reputation and image.
Corporate image is what enables companies like Hindustan Lever,
Bajaj Auto, and the like, to keep their leadership position in the
marketplace. This image is a representation in the minds of the
stakeholders. It is also equally a reality. Image management can be
successful only when corporate performance is congruent with its
personality.
Corporate events and milestones also help build corporate image. The
impression the company creates, when planned effectively and
efficiently, in inevitably affects the people who do business with
it, or invest in it, or work in it. It makes the image tangible and
credible. At the national level, for instance, Manmohan Singh’s
milestone reforms and liberalization of the Indian economy is an
example of this fact. The reforms process has changed India’s image
and made it an attractive investment for other countries and
multinational companies of the world.
Corporate image is the net result of the interaction of all
experiences, impressions, beliefs, feelings and knowledge that
people have about the company. No company today can afford to ignore
its image and image building. This image would generally be a
positive one, but would also take into consideration the negatives,
if any, within it. A company that takes its corporate image
seriously is far less likely to project conflicting images. For this
type of a company, image is a result of a comprehensive intellectual
and physical exercise (plan). It has to take into consideration the
soft and the hard aspects of its performance – its policies,
practices, and people.
Companies are known by the image they themselves build and
communicate to the stakeholders outside and internally to the
employees. And that too based on genuine accomplishments in areas.
It can be a powerful strategic tool, instead of a one time
opportunity or a crisis related activity. An operational policy –
short-term and long-term.
It is
said, changing a personality and image to fit a new desirable image
requires a change of heart to match the change of the face. At the
corporate level, a positive approach and planned actions will
usually win the day for your company.
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